Brad Smith promoted to president and CLO of Microsoft

REDMOND, WA- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Microsoft has made a change to its internal managing structure by promoting its former executive Vice President, Mr. Brad Smith.

Mr. Smith has been working in this position since 2011, while he has also been Microsoft’s general counsel since 2002.

Now, with this promotion, his full title will be president and chief legal officer (CLO).

Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella sent out an email last Friday to all employees in order to confirm Smith’s appointment.

The email specifically said:

“Brad has long had a broad role at the company and now I’m asking him to lead more new initiatives. In addition to handling Microsoft’s legal work, Mr. Smith will be responsible for privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion.”

The promotion of course did not come out of nowhere for Mr. Brad. It was a result of his communication skills with the employees and his excellent work ethic.

According to industry analyst, Katherine Egbert of Piper Jaffray, Brad Smith’s new position will profit the company more than expected, as he is a well-known face among investors, since he has been attending numerous conferences calls and meetings through the second decade of his career.

For the record, he has been working for Microsoft since 1993 and has gone through almost all the lower ranks and other titles, including company secretary.

So first reactions to Microsoft’s move seem to be positive and encouraging.

Given that the company has a lot of rivals to deal with, it is easy to conclude that it also needs sufficient and profitable partnerships, something that judging by the facts, Mr. Smith is the best qualified to achieve.

As it happens in most of the occasions, only time will prove whether the certain strategy will pay off. As they saying suggests, “patience is a virtue”- congratulations to Mr. Smith as well.